Ed Woodward to earn £1.5m from Man Utd sale

Stuart Telford

• 19 Feb 2023 08:38 GMT
• 3 min read

Former Manchester United executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward stands to make £1.5 million from the club's sale.

Woodward ran business operations at Old Trafford for nine years but left in 2021 amid controversy surrounding the proposed European Super League.

However, he retained a minority shareholding in the club which could prove particularly lucrative with Sheikh Jassim bin Hamad Al Thani and Sir Jim Ratcliffe both having lodged bids of £4 billion or more.

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The majority of United's 'A' shares are held by investment firms and asset management companies, while the 'B' shares are mostly split around The Glazer family.

Joel Glazer has the most 'B' shares with 19.11 per cent, which would see him earn £573m from and £4.5bn sale.

Woodward's 'B' share

"Each 'B' share grants its owner 10 votes," explain the Daily Mail. "They make up 67 per cent of the club's total shareholding. Woodward owns 0.05 of one 'B' share, which could be worth £1.5m if the club is sold for £4.5bn."

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It is a significant windfall for a director who divided opinion in his nine years at Old Trafford.

Woodward['s first transfer window saw the club miss out on Toni Kroos, signing Marouane Fellaini from Everton instead.

He also sanctioned the €105m re-signing of Paul Pogba, a player United has lost on a free to Juventus four years earlier, in August 2016.

While Woodward more than doubled the club's commercial value in his time there, he left under a cloud two years ago.

Woodward had been heavily involved in failed Super League idea and announced his resignation at the end of the season in April 2021.

At that point, the Red Devils had endured their worst trophy drought since the mid-1980s, having failed to win any silverware in four years.

He was replaced by Richard Arnold at United in February 2022.